El primer curso de amor

Joe Penner stars as Joe Zany...a ridiculously named and strange character who has a weird affliction. Whenever he's around pretty young ladies, he begins hiccuping uncontrollably. It's so bad his rich father offers $5000 to cure him...and Bob Norman tries to cure Joe by taking him to a lodge filled with young ladies. Bob tells Joe that these women are all in their 60s...the result of plastic surgery and the like. And, because the women are all supposedly old, Joe seems at ease around them.

While you can easy see that the film's plot is ridiculous and contrived, it might have somehow worked had the film been funny and Penner more likable. As it is, it all seems very forced and unfunny--especially at the start where you see Penner dressed as a baby and then a small child. Although I found Penner mostly unfunny, it is sad he died so young (of an apparent heart attack at 36). Interestingly, IMDB actually says about this "Had he not died so young (of a heart attack at age 36), Penner probably would have suffered an early decline anyway simply due to the repetitive nature of his schtick and faded into supporting character roles". I can easily see their point.

So is this worth seeing? Not especially...as Penner is so unlikable and brash. Additionally, the writing was sometimes awfully broad. It's a shame, as the concept is much like Harold Lloyd's "Girl Shy'...which was a great film. Also, the supporting cast is terrific--with the likes to Tom Kennedy and Mantan Moreland to provide some REAL laughs. You really wonder if the film, with a slight re-write and different leading actors (such as Abbott & Costello), might have worked. All I know is that I didn't enjoy this picture very much and plan on avoiding Penner's films. Perhaps he was beloved on radio, but as a leading man in films, he was just more annoying than funny.

this is a very good slapstick comedy feature from RKO, with a fine supporting cast including Tom Kennedy playing one of his patented dimwits, Fritz Feld, Arthur Q. Bryan and the underrated Mantan Moreland. Russ Brown, now principally remembered as a leading support in the stage cast of DAMN YANKEES is a fine second banana. It's directed by old hand slapstick pro Leslie Goodwins. And it's all wrecked by Joe Penner.

During the 1930s a lot of radio comedy was predicated on people with funny voices -- Fanny Brice, a talented performer, led the way with Baby Snooks. There were others and Joe Penner was among their ranks: an adenoidal toddler's voice, a catch phrase ("wanna buy a duck") and that was it. Think of Lou Costello without Bud Abbott to play against and only a portion of one routine ("I'm a baaaaad boy!") and done. That's Joe Penner: a third banana from a burlesque show somehow shoved into the top spot of a movie without preparation.

Show business has always thrown up these sports and for the most part they star in one show, then it's on to whatever B or C list celebrities do -- "Comedy Central Celebrity Roasts" these days, where they can be safely ignored. Well, in those days, this is what happened to them: B comedies from RKO where skilled supporting casts and Leslie Goodwins tried to make bricks without straw.

So long as Joe Penner is not on the screen, this is a pretty good comedy: millionaire sportsman is afraid of young women, so his father hires a psychiatrist to cure him. The psychiatrist take him to a failing resort populated by millionaire-hunting pretty girls who are all, he informs the millionaire, actually old ladies. Complications, in the manner of all the best comedies, ensue, including a local mass murderer. Unfortunately, Joe is there to be annoying to other characters (which is fine) and audience alike (which is not). Others could certainly play this part very well, even, perhaps, people in this movie. Unfortunately, they chose Joe.

Joe penner, grady sutton, mantan moreland. All giants in comedy. The story is the weak point here. Penner is joe zany, son of very rich businessman. Joe gets the hiccups whenever he's around pretty girls. Some comedy bits, as joe gets pulled around the lake holding onto a motorboat motor. And the running gag where the bellhop never seems to get a tip. Joe goes off to a resort that his father wants to buy. For some unexplained reason, its mostly girls visiting the resort. The goons start haunting the resort so the owner will sell. Now joe is running around town with a bag, being mistaken for a killer. It's just okay. It feels like it wasn't edited well. And has the corniest ending ever. Entertaining enough, if you don't look too closely. Directed by les goodwins. He's probably best known for the lupe velez, the mexican spitfire films.

About a dozen gorgeous women make this movie a hit with me. The lead actor in this movie is not the best, but I guess he does have to act a little bit odd in order to justify the reason he's at the lodge with all these gorgeous young women. Women make him nervous, and he is sent here to find a cure.

There is a lot of good slapstick comedy and mistaken identity scenarios. But it was good humor to see these beautiful women honestly pursuing a wealthy man. No political correctness in this movie. At one point, the primary female interest in the movie, Linda Hayes, is ask how old she is. She replies 22. Which interestingly was her real age. If you're in the mood to watch a dozen or so 19 to 25 year old women, with freshly scrubbed faces look no further.

I purchased the DVD from Zeus, but there are other sellers as well. The quality was very watchable.

Joe Zany (Joe Penner) has always reacted strangely to girls even as a baby. He gets a case of the hiccups whenever a girl kisses him. His tycoon father hires escort manager Bob Norman to fix him but it's not that type of escort. Bob takes the big money job anyways and accompanies Joe to a resort filled with young women. Bob tricks Joe by claiming that these are old ladies after their facelifts. Resort owner Lois Marlow convinces the gold-digging girls to stay with promise of a rich bachelor. Joe doesn't know that his father had sent two aggressive agents to buy the resort.

It's silly non-sense. There is some funny moments and wacky situations. I just never cared that much about Joe. He's basically the 40 year old virgin but Penner is trying too hard. The bevy of greedy babes is not a good look. It provides a minor laugh but it's also kinda sad. The story is so convoluted that I lost track of everybody. Nevertheless, the zany adventures are pretty zany and there are some fun gags although Penner's zaniness wears thin by the end.